Canyon fire IC-Trainee called to check in for the night @ 1911 on 7/21. I heard the first part of their transmission that they were hiking off the fire and had line all the way around it. The rest of the transmission was unreadable. When I tried to call them back using the Willow Base Station on our dispatch console (as Deer Mtn Direct was not hitting them), there was immediate static that transmitted into dispatch and the field. I tried for 20 minutes to try and reach them, but would only initiate the static as soon as I pressed the transmit button. When it would stop, the fire was able to do a call in the blind to confirm they were almost back at camp. As the fire is in a remote location, the safety concern was if they had any needs overnight that we would be unable to assist due to the communication issues. Additionally, if the issues continue into tomorrow morning, they have a satellite phone but it should not be the primary commo method while engaged on the fire. |